Twilight 25 Challenge: Round Two
by the-living-zombie
Summary: My entries for the Twilight 25 Challenge. A series of unconnected drabbles and oneshots in response to 25 different prompts. Mostly canon. Rated M for safety.
1. Apathy

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to the respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**Prompt: Apathy**

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Jane**

**Rating: T**

* * *

"_Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand" _

_Bodie Thoene_

* * *

**Apathy**

Existence is empty: devoid of humanity, lifeless, the years overwhelmed by the depths of eternity.

Yet we experience. We go on to conquer, annihilate, control. And sometimes, everything isn't so bleak. Sometimes there's a spark. An ember glows, starting a fire within and we feel _something_.

That something is power. When I look into the eyes of the terrified, the damned and the powerless, I feel alive. As they scream and writhe, that spark warms my frigid body — a laugh escapes.

As a human, I burned. During transformation, my life was incinerated. Now that I'm a vampire, it's their turn.

* * *

**A/N** – I've wanted to write for a while, and this round of the Twilight 25 seemed a perfect opportunity to do it.

Thanks to IAmToWait for beta-ing, and thank you for reading.


	2. Dark

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. 

**The Twilight Twenty-Five **

**Prompt: Dark**

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Edward**

**Rating: T**

* * *

"_To sin is a human business; to justify sins is a devilish business."_

_Leo Tolstoy_

* * *

**Dark**

The curtain rises and I am the judge, jury and executioner.

I traverse the dark depths of humanity, eradicating the depraved and the degenerates, with the filth of the dimly lit back alleys as my stage.

The latest villain of this tale enters stage right, shrieking damsel in hand. As he shoves her into cold brick, she begs for mercy, but she will find none from him — only delight in her cries, pleasure in her agony.

Her cries are my cue. I enter, swooping in like an avenging archangel.

Now the roles have reversed, and I have become the villain.

* * *

**A/N – **I'd already wrote a few drabbles so I thought I'd put a few up tonight. This is my favourite one I've written so far, I hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks again to IAmToWait for beta-ing and thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/alerted.


	3. Bitter

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. 

**The Twilight Twenty-Five **

**Prompt: Bitter**

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Leah**

**Rating: T**

* * *

"_Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned,_

_Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."_

_William Congreve_

* * *

**Bitter**

The pain of losing him is not unlike the process of transformation. When I change, I lose that part of myself that holds on to reason; everything is instinctual and pure emotion.

Every time I see them together, whether in reality or within his thoughts, my instinct is to lash out — it's like rubbing salt into a wound. That part of me that still stings with his betrayal wants to make his life miserable: I want him to feel how much I hurt, how betrayed they had both left me.

And just like when I phase, I become a monster.

* * *

**A/N – **Alright this is the last one I've already finished. Updates will come in much slower now.

Thanks to IAmToWait for beta-ing and thanks to everyone who read, reviewed or alerted.


	4. Awe

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. 

**The Twilight Twenty-Five **

**Prompt: Awe**

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Mike**

**Rating: M**

* * *

"_He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed." _

_Albert Einstein_

* * *

**Awe**

_Holy fuck._

It's days like this I'm glad to go to the most boring school in northwest America.

She walks into the cafeteria, looking like she's floating on air. Legs long, blonde curls shining in the dull fluorescent light, shirt oh-so-tight.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

She is stunning: more gorgeous than every single woman posing in the Playboys under my bed and more beautiful than those goddess chicks we learned about way back when. Hell, there is _no one_ like Rosalie Hale.

"Mike. MIKE!"

Jessica elbows me, _hard_, in the ribs, scowling.

Well… she looks okay, I guess.

* * *

**A/N – **This isn't what I'd usually write, but I needed to work on something different for awhile.

Thanks to IAmToWait for beta-ing. You always find time to help me and I really appreciate it.


	5. Comfort

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. 

**The Twilight Twenty-Five **

**Prompt: Comfort**

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Esme/Carlisle**

**Rating: T**

* * *

"_There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were." _

_Dwight David Eisenhower_

* * *

**Comfort**

I'd lost a child decades before, the pain never disappearing. Watching my baby die, I'd never felt so helpless.

And it's happening again.

I'm watching my youngest son, my first son, simply stop living. Now he merely exists.

Carlisle walks in, finally home from the hospital, noting my pained expression with weary eyes.

"He barely sees me, he doesn't move, and he doesn't hunt." My voice drops to a whisper as I add, "Carlisle, it's scaring me."

He reaches for my hand. He doesn't say it'll be okay or that he'll fix it. He can't keep either promise.

"I know."

* * *

**A/N** – Thanks to IAmToWait for beta-ing, and thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, or alerts. If I haven't replied to your review, know that I appreciate every single one.

Oh, and if any of you aren't reading An Introduction to Swirl and Daisy, get to it. It is easily one of my favourites, and it is ridiculously adorable. (Links on my profile).


	6. Rapacious

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. 

**The Twilight Twenty-Five **

**Prompt: Rapacious **

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Maria**

**Rating: M**

* * *

_"He who is greedy is always in want." _

_Horace_

* * *

**Rapacious **

The army I commanded was even more disposable than the humans we drank from.

They killed for _me_, conquered for _me_ and when they surpassed their use, they were led like lambs to the slaughter.

One by one, Jasper dealt with them. Heads would roll — limbs torn from limbs — then tossed on the fire and reduced to ash.

The disposal was always so inconvenient. The thick, acrid smoke from their funeral pyres reeked — it was almost enough to put me off my food.

But _fuck_, I needed more: more death, more power, more respect.

And it still wouldn't be enough.

* * *

**A/N** – Thank you to IAmToWait for beta-ing. And thank you to anyone who reads, reviews, or alerts.


	7. Alone

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. 

**The Twilight Twenty-Five **

**Prompt: Alone**

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Carlisle**

**Rating: T**

* * *

_"Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible."_

_Carl Jung_

* * *

**Alone**

It would've been a deal sealed in blood — the ultimate Faustian deal.

I would've gotten everything I craved: civilization, culture, and, most importantly, companionship.

In exchange, my soul would blacken with each innocent life lost until what was left of my humanity disappeared completely.

And it was a price I refused to pay.

I left Italy for the New World soon after, my life much as it'd always been. As a doctor, I save lives every day, only to be forever relegated to the periphery of society. As a vampire, I'm ostracized for my beliefs.

Nothing's changed; I'm still alone.

* * *

**A/N **– This was a bitch to write but I hope you liked it.

Thanks to IAmToWait for beta-ing. And thank you to everyone who read, reviewed or alerted.


	8. Morose

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, quotes and recognizable works belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. 

**The Twilight Twenty-Five **

**Prompt: Morose**

**Penname: the-living-zombie**

**Pairing: Seth**

**Rating: T**

* * *

"_My grief lies all within, And these external manners of lament Are merely shadows to the unseen grief That swells with silence in the tortured soul" _

_William Shakespeare_

* * *

**Morose**

It feels like everyone's crying.

I _hate_ crying.

Don't they say it's supposed to be therapeutic? That crying helps let out the pain?

Well whoever "they" are, I'm calling bullshit.

The only result is a stuffy nose, red eyes and inevitable embarrassment. And the poor sap that happens to witness it just stands there, awkward as hell.

They all try to help: an uncomfortable hug, a bad joke. Nothing ever works, although I suppose it's the thought that counts.

It's a shame there's no wolfie power that can bring people back to life — it's the only thing that could help.

* * *

**A/N** – Thanks to IAmToWait for beta-ing, and thank you to anyone who reads, reviews or alerts.


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